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Awan & Khan – Volume 8, Issue 1 (2017)

e-Journal of Social & Behavioural Research in Business


Vol. 8, Iss. 1, 2017, pp: 91–105.
”http://www.ejsbrb.org”

Status of Internet Addiction among College Students in


South Korea

Mahmood A. Awan *
SolBridge International School of International Business, Daejeon, S. Korea
E-mail: mawan@solbridge.ac.kr
(*Corresponding author)

Habib Ullah Khan


College of Business and Economics (CBE),
Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
E-mail: habib.khan@qu.edu.qa

Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the status of internet Addiction among college
students of South Korea.
Design/method/approach: Data was collected from 426 Korean university students using a
modified survey instrument developed previously by Young (2009) for this purpose.
Findings: Results showed a higher level of Internet Addiction (10%) compared to the previous
studies. It was also noted that the Internet Addiction is not gender specific since Internet
dependency was not significantly different between males and females. Similarly, the logistic
regression analysis showed that among the factors, education, emotion, time management, and
mood index are all significantly associated with internet addiction for the Korean college
students.
Originality/value: The findings from this study addresses a gap in the literature, and provides
for future comparative studies be conducted on the engagement of students with social
networking sites to better understand internet addiction.

Keywords: Internet addiction; College students; South Korea.

JEL Classification: D71


PsycINFO Classification: 3000
FoR Code: 1702
ERA Journal ID#: 123340

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Introduction
Internet use is on the rise due to an increasing dependence on the Internet for various
aspects of our lives and work. Easy access to reliable Internet technologies has enhanced
organizational performance, commerce, education and communication, globally. Internet Live
Stat (2015) has reported that world population on the Internet, which was only 1 % in 1995, is
now around 40%. Further, over the past decade technological improvements in the computerized
gadgets (e.g. cellphones, notepads and portable high technological device) that connect people
to the Internet easily and ubiquitously and the wide adoption of online social networking and
gaming applications, has also increased (Turel & Sureuko, 2010; Awan et al., 2012). Leung (2004)
has used a special term for such generation using outline social networks and online gaming
apps, as “net generation”.

Research has suggested that excessive Internet use can be pathological and addictive
(Cao et al. 2011, Chang & Law 2008, Griffiths 2003, Widyanto & Griffiths 2006; Najmi et al.,
2015). Griffiths (2000) consider Internet addiction (IA) to be a kind of technological addiction
such as computer addiction and one of a subset of behavioral addiction. Tao et al. (2010) has
stated that symptoms of IA include pre-occupation, withdrawal, loss of control and functional
impairment. Similarly, Turel et al. (2011) has found additional symptoms of IA which include
negative personal, societal and work place related ramifications. Although there is no universal
agreement on the definition of IA, the literature indicates uncontrolled excessive/over use of
Internet in the definition (Awan et al., 2016; Heang and Khan, 2015).

Presently South Korea is a world leader in web connectivity and roughly more than 45
million Internet users out of 49.5 million population with annual 8% growth as reported by
Internet Live Stats (2015). Thereby, the 2015 Internet usage rate among 20-39 age group is
nearly 99.9% (Statista, 2016; Khan, 2016). Consequently it shows how the people of South Korea
are involved in web activities with technologically advance devices. Thus it is important to
understand the level of IA among the college student who are very involved in web activities.
Since Internet is the vehicle for e-commerce, IA poses a threat to the healthy and sustainable
development of e-commerce. Lao and Wu (2011) have shown that online buying impulsiveness is
affected by IA, which in turn is influenced by mental instability. Therefore, a general
understanding of the IA levels among the college students could benefit the e-commerce
business in future.

Young (1998) developed the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) to assess an individual’s
addiction level. IAT has received overwhelming support for the instrument’s validity and
reliability to measure IA levels globally. Although a number of studies have been conducted in
the past, all have focused on the psychiatric symptoms and remedies (Kim & Kim 2000; Khan et
al., 2013; Ho et al., 2016; Bashir et al., 2016). The objective of the current study is to get an
update on the status of IA among the Korean College students. According to the literature
review, IA is a serious issue to be studied among college students. Kim and Kim (2002) studied
the Korean college students and reported over 3.1% of the respondents to be seriously addicted
to the Internets and 26 % are lightly addicted to the Internet. Since the use of Internet has
drastically increased since 2002, current study aims to answer these research questions: 1) Is the
IA increasing among Korean college students with the increased usage of Smartphones? 2) Is the
Korean college students’ perception of IA gender specific? 3) Are there more than one dimension
of the IA constructs concerning Korean college students’ perception of IA? 4) Is the IA dependent
on time spent online by Korean College students?

This paper is organized in the following manner: Next section presents the background
and literature review of the Internet Addiction; Third section is the methodology describing
sampling procedures, instrument development and analysis; The final section concludes the
paper with the summary of managerial implication drawn from this research and mentions about
limitations as well as future research directions.

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Literature Review
Internet has become a vital tool for many today. The purposes of using Internet are in
accordance with various needs of Maslow’s pyramid stated in Figure 1 below. Nowadays users are
able to buy various goods and reserve tickets online to meet their physiological needs, they can
use social networks like Facebook to communicate with others in the sense of satisfying
relationships as well as esteem needs. They also can access useful information, knowledge for
their cognitive needs and recreations such as game online or music are always available on
Internet to meet their aesthetic needs. Hence Internet is an exponentially emerging field of
consumer studies. However, over-reliance to “logging on” is becoming even more common
especially among people over 23 who often think this is an issue only affecting adolescents and
continue as if nothing’s wrong (Benedict 2015; Khan, 2013a; Khan 2013b). Some recent studies
have pointed out that IA addiction tend to display behavioral symptoms commonly found in all
technology addictions including salience, withdrawal, conflict, relapses and reinstatement,
summarized in table 1.

Figure 1:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Source: http://kellygonzalez.com/11548-2/

The phenomenon of the internet addiction has been approved from a medical and
psychological point of view, which often treats it as a behavioral disorder. Chou et al., (2005)
studied the internet addiction since 1996 and noted that the focus has been on online activities
choice, social-psychological factors such as sensation seeking, pleasure experience, loneliness,
and depression, and other computer user related issues.

Studies on Mood Modification factor suggest that mental dysfunctions such as


depression, moodiness, and instability may all be presented when internet access is limited or
denied to internet addicts. Andreassen et al. (2012) has stated that mood modification refers to
how the addiction to social networks modifies or improves the emotional fate of adolescents.
Since it is used by them as a mean of avoiding problems or reducing negative emotional states
with regard to mood modification, university students under study think that the internet
contains exciting information that can provide them with a source of enjoyment, relaxation, and
can relieve the stress of the day. Warawudhi (2012) has further explained that students use the
internet to form relationships and to kill time. Huang (2007) has shown that living in an
introversive social culture, Chinese may see the internet communication as a safer way to
express emotions. Some youngster use the internet as an activity of avoidance in order to
express the emotions. Some youngster use the internet as an activity of avoidance in order to
distract them self from the stressful event, task, or stream of thought as mentioned by Davis et

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al. (2002). In South Korea more adolescents use the internet than do any other age group. For
these youngsters, the internet is not only the most common activity of daily life but also a major
recreational activity.

Young (1996) suggested that there are four triggers that initiate excessive internet use:
(1) application effectively a particular application that influences the user to be addicted, (2)
emotions the internet helps the users to be more relaxed and calm, (3) Cognition the internet
acts as therapy for the user to get relief from maladaptive thoughts and catastrophic thinking,
and (4) life events life dissatisfaction (including absence of initiate relationships). Internet
Addiction (IA) includes symptoms (Karim & Nigar, 2014) such as (1) a pre-occupation with the
internet at inappropriate times, (2) an inordinate amount of time spent on social-networking
sites instead of developing relationships in the real world, (3) excessive watching of
pornography, which compromises one’s interpersonal relationships, (4) using the internet to
escape negative feelings such as depression or self-esteem, (5) weight, poor hygiene, capital
tunnel, and other physical effects of an internet obsession. And (6) jeopardizing work and
relationships to use the internet. Table 1 tabulate the references as per the constructs. Thus,
one of the major objectives of the current study is to determine if more than one dimension of
the constructs are responsible for Korean college students IA levels.

Table 1: Tabular form of the references and the topics discussed


Constructs Definitions References
Preference for online which is defined as the belief that one is Fioravanti, G. et al. 2013;
social interactions (POSI) safer, more efficacious, and more confident Khan et al., 2014b; Musa et al., 2015;
with online interpersonal interactions than Hassan et al., 2016
with face-to-face interactions
Mood regulation which pertains to the motivation to use the Fioravanti, G. et al. 2013
Internet to alleviate distressing feelings
Online dependence cutting down online time, preferring time to Karim. R, and Nigar. N, 2014; Khan et
spend with online friends, and feeling al., 2014a
depressed offline

Emotional attachment, Continuous interest in Computer games, Kortunov and Fedulin, 2013; Askoul et
“Need to be Hero” al., 2016
Pre-occupation Pre-occupation relates to spending Petry et al., 2014; Khan et al., 2015;
substantial amounts of time thinking about an Khan 2012
activity.
Withdrawal Withdrawal refers to symptoms that emerge Petry et al., 2014; Halabi et al., 2014
when one is unable to engage in a behavior or
is attempting to reduce or stop it.
Loss of interest in other To marked reductions in other recreational Petry et al., 2014; Khan and Ejike,
hobbies or activities activities. 2017; Awan and Khan, 2016
Self-directedness Described as self-determination or self- Sariyska. R., et al, 2014;
regulation (Cloninger, Svrakic, & Przybeck, Das and Khan, 2016; Uwemi et al.,
1993) – and the time spent on the Internet for 2016
private purposes.
Mood modification This component refers to how the addiction Andreassen et al., 2012; Griffiths,
to social networks modifies or improves the 2005; Ejike et al., 2016; Omonaiye et
emotional state of adolescents since it is used al., 2016.
by them as a means of avoiding problems or
reducing negative emotional states
Dependency Addictive behavior is not related to the Echeburúa and Corral (2009)
frequency but to the dependency.
Decreased academic It is the loss of interest in academic (Bankole et al., 2017; Turel, Serenko,
performance performance, which leads to a decreased & Bontis, 2011; Yang & Tung, 2007;
academic performance and a deterioration of Young, 2009).; Khan et al., 2016
the relationship with teachers
Loss of control This activity has to be performed more Andreassen et al., 2012; Griffiths,
intensely to obtain initial effects; in other 2005; Uwemi and Khan, 2016
words, there is a need to spend more and
more time connected to social networks in
order to get the same level of satisfaction,
resulting in the inability or decreased ability
to control their use
Conflicts in the social sphere It is the increase in problems with social (Chou, 2001; Chou et al.,2005;
relationships and the decrease in the time Echeburua, 2000; Yang & Tung,
spent with family and friends as more time is 2007); Bashir and Khan, 2016b;
spent at the computer

Loss of interest in other There are drastic changes in lifestyle in order


activities to have more time to stay connected on

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social networks such as loss of interest in


hobbies or other leisure activities Adolescents
most often choose to be connected to the
network instead of spending more time with
friends, which decreases sociability
Mood modification (Chinese There may be some cultural differences HUANG, 2007
Culture) in defining addictive behaviors across Chinese
and U.S. Internet users. Specifically, for
Chinese users, the mood modification
produced by using the Internet may not imply
addiction.
Time management Compulsive Internet use and failure to control Widyanto and McMurran (2004);
the amount of time spent on the Internet
lead to problems with time management.

Performance and Time Which encompasses issues related to time Fernández-Villa, 2015
Management spent online and how a loss of control in this
aspect can impair academic and professional
performance.

Kim and Kim (2002) examined IA from the prescriptive of consumer studies. The study
focused on Korean youngsters between the ages of 15-39. The main aims of the study included
investigating the tendency of Korean youngster towards IA and alienation as well as examining
the relative influence of individual factors on IA. It was shown that over 3% of the respondents
are seriously addicted to the internet and over 26% are lightly addicted to the internet. It was
recommended that relevant policies and programs by the concerned authorities be implemented
to handle this issue. One of the objectives of the current study is to evaluate whether the Korean
college students’ IA perception is gender specific.

Internet usage among college students is a cause for concern, and potentially requires
intervention and treatment among the most vulnerable groups. Christakis et al. (2011) conducted
a pilot survey of two US university/College students. It was reported that the at-risk population
was very high and preventive measures were recommended. Similarly, Zainuddin, and Othmaul
(2013) conducted a survey of five different universities in Malaysia. The researchers concluded
that internet applications influenced the internet usage and students tended to spend most of
their time on social networking. Usman et al. (2014) identified the relationship between IA and
academic performance among foreign undergraduate students in Malaysia. The study results
showed that there was no significant differences in IA in term of cumulative Students Academic
Performance (SAP). However, there seems to be a relationship between the time college
students spend and their perception of IA.

Previous studies have shown that male students are more delinquent in internet use than
females (Ma et al 2011). Regarding the academic performance of young people due to internet
use, on one hand some studies suggest that internet provides tremendous educational benefits,
such as more information access, better visual intelligence skills, and enhancement of teacher-
student communication (Ni et al. 2009). Conversely, many negative impacts are listed, such as
most non-school hours are spent on the internet, not keeping up with the assignments, missing
classes, falling asleep in school, failing courses, and missing a social engagement etc. (Huang et
al., 2009, Kim et al., 2009). Chou and Hsiao (2000) reports that Taiwanese students might
develop some academic problems, such as dropping out or losing learning in school, owing to
excessive use of the internet. In one study, researcher discovered undeniable similarities
between internet addicts and gambling addicts in term of trait impulsivity, this leads to the
reasoning that IA should be approached as an impulse control disorder (Lee et al., 2012).

Smartphone Usage in South Korea

Smartphone market in South Korea is growing rapidly, as per report by KT’s research Digi
(2015) smart phone penetration in Korea is reached 83%, ranked as 4th position after Singapore
87.7, Saudi Arabia with 81.3%, and UAE on top with 90.8%. It is further reported that 4 out of 5
people in South Korea possess smartphones. In term of growth rate, smartphone penetration
reaches 3.5% annual increase in the South Korea. Furthermore, according to the E-marketer
report (2015) South Korea ranks the top in the penetration of mobile phone as a percentage of
the total population of any country in Asia-pacific and in 2016 half of the country’s population
will use social networks on the mobile phone as forecasted by e-marketer.com. It must be

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admitted that going online for SNS (social networking service) like Kakao Talk & Line or gaming
apps are becoming main functions of a smartphone rather than solely used to call & send
message. According time Korean Times, 10% of Korean students are addicted to smartphones in.
This survey conducted on 1.42 million students (Fourth. seventh and tenth grades) across the
country and showed significance growth of internet and smart phone usage. Thus final objective
of this study is to determine any increase/decrease in IA level among Korean college students
since the first study conducted in 2002.

Research Design and Data Analysis


Data was collected from Korean university students. Survey method was used. A
questionnaire consisting of two sections was designed. The first section of the questionnaire
contained the items that measure Internet Addiction using a 20 item scale (1=Never, 5= Very
Frequently). The second part of the questionnaire sought demographic information such as age,
gender, years in school, time spent online etc. No individually – identifiable data was collected
to assure respondents of their confidentiality. Of the 450 samples of data collected, 426 were
found complete and usable.

Data Table 2 shows the profiles of responding students. The gender distribution of the
respondents is roughly equal showing male students (56.6%) and female students (43.4%).
Further, an overwhelming percent of the respondents (67%) were high students & undergraduates
while low (33%) number of graduates completed the questionnaire. Also, most students in survey
were below thirty-five years of age.

Table 2:
Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Variables N (%)
Gender Male 241 (57)
Female 185 (43)
18-24 338 (79)
Age 25-34 80 (19)
35-44 1
45-54 7 (2)
High school 150 (35)
Level of Some college 135 (32)
education College graduate 47 (11)
University graduate 93 (22)

The data relating to the internet usage among the students of Korea is tested and the
results are tabulated in the descriptive table 3, with corresponding p-values. Students, who are
accessing internet are segregated into two categories – addicted and non-addicted. Indexes are
constructed by using the data related to factors – emotional, time management, mood
management and culture. Among all the factors, education, emotional index, time management
index and mood index are found to be significantly associated with internet addiction. It can be
understood from the table that among the total number of students, only 22.5% are addicted to
internet and the ratio of male to female among the addicted are 54 : 46 respectively.

Table 3:

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Users of Internet

Group N (%)
1-5 times a month 25 (6)
1-5 times a week 74 (17)
1-5 times a day 143 (34)
More than 6 times a Day 184 (43)
Total 426 (100)

Table 4:
Internet Addiction tendency (Age & Gender)

Emotional Index 13.8±4.5 11.7±4.4 0.001


Time Mgt Index 15.7±3.2 13.2±4.3 0.001
Mood Mgt Index 14.5±4 12±4.5 0.001
Culture Index 18.2±2.9 17.1±3.2 0.001
* refers to ‘< 0.05’
Education was found as one of the important variables which is associated with the
internet addiction. The majority of addicted students (81.3%) belongs to 18-24 age group, which
implies that undergraduates are the main victims of IA, not graduates. Future studies can look
the possible reasons and consequences of this situations. Other variables like income level and
nationality are found insignificant. The scale developed by Widyanto et al., (2011) is considered
and is modified by adding another construct “Culture”. Indices are constructed to check for their
effect on the internet usage and in particular, internet addiction.

Results revealed that all the four constructs, emotional / psychological factor, time
management factor and mood management factor are found to be significantly associated with
the level of internet addiction. However, considering individually, much variation is not found
between the impact of these indices on addicted and non-addicted groups. Compared to the
non-addicted group, the addicted group has more impact of indices at significant level. The
variables that are significantly associated with the internet addiction level are considered for
further analysis – logistic regression (dependent variable, being dichotomous) to know the
relative impact. Hence, the variables entered into the regression model are – education,
emotional index, time management index, cultural index and mood management index. The
results are given in the following table 5.

Table 5:
Output of Binomial Logistic Regression (I)

Gender N (%) Age N (%)


Variable Group N (%) Male Female 18-24 25-34 35-44
Normal user 330 (77) 189 (78) 141(76) 260 (77) 64 (80) 6 (75)
Internet Light addict 54 (13) 30 (12) 24 (13) 43 (12) 10 (13) 1 (13)
addiction Serious 42 (10) 22 (9) 20 (11) 35 (10) 6 (8) 1 (13)
tendency addict
Total 426 (100) 241 185 338 80 8

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After fitting the model, all the factors are considered to know their role in explaining
the influence in the dependent variable, internet usage are listed in the above table. The
analysis is done at two levels of significance – 0.05 and 0.10 (5% and 10%). Considering the 5 %
significance value revealed that education, time and culture are found to be significant in
explaining the variation in the internet addiction. That is, compared to the high school students,
college going students and graduate students are found 90 times and 200 times more addicted to
internet usage. Also, time and culture are found to have 10 and 11 times more impact on
internet addicted students than non-addicted at significant level. On the other hand, the results
at 10% level of significance it indicates that gender, income and mood have an impact on the
level of addiction.

Factor Analysis:

Before applying this multivariate statistical technique (Factor Analysis), Kaiser-Meyer-


Olkin (KMO) measure for adequacy check is done to verify the applicability of the factor analysis.
The ideal value KMO value considered as acceptable should be ranging from 0.5 to 1. The
presence of correlations between the factors is tested using Barlett test of sphericity and a
significant p-value (p<0.05) leads to acceptance of Barlette test statistic. The factors associated
are extracted by using principal component analysis (PCA). The Eigen value criterion (>1) was
used to select the number of factors. These factor loadings are represented pictorially on the
scree plot, given in Figure 2. The following scree plot identifies the factors that are extracted
from the given data.

Figure 2:
Scree Plot

The correlation matrix provided in table -6 reveals a relationship among the various factors
involved in the study. Similarly, the following table -7 given the KMO and Bartlett’s test values.
The value of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy reveal that 69.7 percent of
the variation can be explained by the factors for the given data. Also, the significant Bartlett’s
value (<0.05) indicates that factors analysis test can be applied for the given data.

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Table 6:
Correlation Matrix
age income
Gender education EP_INDEX TMI_INDEX MM_INDEX CUL_INDEX
modifed modifed
Gender 1
education -0.091 1
age
0.018 0.141 1
modifed
income
-0.051 -0.098 0.028 1
modifed
EP_INDEX -0.104 0.251 0.026 -0.008 1
TMI_INDEX 0.034 0.213 -0.007 0.038 0.672 1
MM_INDEX -0.086 0.247 0.026 0.038 0.662 0.59 1
CUL_INDEX -0.216 0.12 -0.075 0.044 0.134 0.185 0.204 1

Table 7:
KMO and Bartlett’s Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. 0.697

Approx. Chi-Square 652.48


Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Df 36
Sig. 0

The following table-8 lists the Eigen values extracted from the given set of variables.
From the total list of factors, four factors got extracted and explaining individually, 27.7, 13.4,
12.6 and 11.4 percentage of variation of the dependent variable. While these percentages are
adjusted after rotation to 29.7, 14.18, 12.6 and 11.69. So, by and large 65.18 percentage in the
phenomenon is being explained by the various factors.

Table 8:
Eigen Value Extraction

Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared


Initial Eigenvalues
Loadings Loadings
Component
% of Cumulative % of Cumulative % of Cumulative
Total Total Total
Variance % Variance % Variance %
1 2.494 27.708 27.708 2.494 27.708 27.708 2.402 26.694 26.694
2 1.207 13.413 41.12 1.207 13.413 41.12 1.276 14.18 40.874
3 1.136 12.626 53.746 1.136 12.626 53.746 1.136 12.619 53.493
4 1.03 11.44 65.186 1.03 11.44 65.186 1.052 11.694 65.186
5 0.955 10.616 75.802
6 0.775 8.611 84.413
7 0.721 8.007 92.42
8 0.399 4.43 96.85
9 0.283 3.15 100

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Communalities (Table–9) indicate the amount of variance in each variable that is


accounted for. Initial communalities are estimates of the variance in each variable accounted for
by all components or factors. Extraction communalities are estimates of the variance in each
variable accounted for by the factors (or components) in the factor solution. Small values (less
than 0.5) indicate variables that do not fit well with the factor solution, and should possibly be
dropped from the analysis.

Table 9:
Communalities

Initial Extraction
Gender 1 0.573

education 1 0.548
age
1 0.763
modifed
income
1 0.876
modifed
country
1 0.304
name
EP_INDEX 1 0.767
TMI_INDEX 1 0.756
MM_INDEX 1 0.728
CUL_INDEX 1 0.552

Discussion
In South Korea, numerous media reports and medical related studies (Lee, 2012; Smuts
et al., 2017) about Internet Addiction have caused a great deal of concern among the public. It
was reported for example that smartphone addicts find it difficult to live without their handsets
and their constant use disrupts work and social life. Though IA is not recognized as a mental
illness, there is a trend on the part of medical practitioners and health officials worldwide to
viewt it as an illness rather than a mere social problem.

The study conducted by Kim and Kim (2002) on this subject reported that 3.1% of the
respondents were seriously addicted to the Internet while around 26% were classified as lightly
addicted. This current study using the same research instrument points to around 10% being
seriously addicted and around 13% slightly addicted. It seems that with the increased use of the
Internet and Smartphones, the IA has increased around three-fold. This is alarming since the
Ministry of Public Administration and Security of Korea has recently enacted a law that makes it
mandatory for schools to provide education on the dangers of IA. However, with the evidence of
an increase in IA, the Ministry needs to consider possible alternative courses of action.

Secondly, this study examined whether the Korean college students’ perception of IA is
gender specific. The results indicate that IA is not gender specific however, it is spreading both
among young males and females. Thirdly, this study that the factors, such as, education,
emotion, time management, and mood index were all significantly associated with IA. Finally,
the study highlights that IA behaviour is dependent on time spent by students online.
Subsequently, the more time they spend on the Internet, the more likely that they will show
signs of IA disorder.

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Limitations, Future research directions

The use of the term “Internet Addiction” should be used with caution as there may be
legitimate times that require seemingly excessive use of the Internet by a student due to the
nature of his/her college work or even in a part-time job. No attempt was made to study the
psychological effects on the students from using the Internet. Similarly, no control group was
used in this study. In addition, the questionnaire did not ask about the purposes of going online
such as for study, shopping, work or entertainment, which would be beneficial for e-commerce
in terms of getting a better understanding of consumer behaviour. Other areas for future
research may focus on internet addiction through the engagement of students with social
networking sites as well as using the Internet for e-commerce.

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Concepts In A Classroom Environment Of Adult Learner, 15th International Conference on
Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training (IEEE Conference), Istanbul,
Turkey, September 8th – September 10, 2016. (Conference Proceeding).
Bashir, G. M., Khan, H.U., Fournier-Bonilla, S. D. (2016). Applying Andragogy Theory to an Adult
Multicultural Audience: How Cultural Factors Influence the Capacity for Adults to Learn
Information Technology Concepts in a Classroom Environment, Northeast Decision Sciences
Institute Conference, Alexandria, Virginia, USA, March 31st – April 2nd, 2016. (Conference
Proceeding).
Cao H, Sun Y, Wan Y, Hao J, Tao F. (2011) Problematic Internet use in Chinese adolescents and
its relation to psychosomatic symptoms and life satisfaction. BMC Public Health, 11: 802.
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confirmatory study. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(6), 2597-2619.
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study on the sleep quality of incoming university students. Psychiatry Research, 197(3),
270-274.

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Cho, S.-M., Sung, M.-J., Shin, K.-M., Lim, K., & Shin, Y.-M. (2013). Does Psychopathology in
Childhood Predict Internet Addiction in Male Adolescents? Child Psychiatry & Human
Development, 44(4), 549-555.
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Taiwan college students' case. Computers & Education. 35, 65–80.
Chou, C. (2001). Internet heavy use and addiction among Taiwanese college students: An online
interactive study. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 4, 573–585.
Chou, C., Condron, L., & Belland, J. (2005). A Review of the Research on Internet Addiction.
Educational Psychology Review, 17(4), 363-388.
Christakis D. A, Moreno M. M, Jelenchick, L., Myaing M. T, and Zhou1 C. (2011). BMC Medicine.
9:77 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/9/77
Das, A. and Khan, H.U. (2016). Security behaviors of smartphone users, Information and
Computer Security, Information and Computer Security, 24(1), 116-134.
Davis, R.A., Flett, G.L., & Besser, A. (2002). Validation of a new scale for measuring problematic
Internet use: Implications for preemployment screening. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 5,
331-345.
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compras, trabajo, internet (2da ed.). Bilbao: Desclée de Brouwer.
Echeburúa, E., & Corral, P. (2009). Las adicciones con o sin droga: una patología de la libertad.
En E. Echeburúa, F.J. Labrador y E. Becoña (Eds.), Adicción a las nuevas tecnologías en
adolescentes y jóvenes (pp. 29-44). Madrid: Pirámide.
Ejike, A. C., Khan, H.U., Fournier-Bonilla, S. D. (2016), Possible Impact of Mobile Banking on
Traditional Banking: A Case Study of Nigeria, Northeast Decision Sciences Institute
Conference, Alexandria, Virginia, USA, March 31st – April 2nd, 2016. (Conference
Proceeding).
Fernández-Villa, T., Molina, A., García-Martín, M., Llorca, J., Delgado-Rodríguez, M., & Martín,
V. (2015). Validation and psychometric analysis of the Internet Addiction Test in Spanish
among college students. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 1-9.
Fioravanti, G., Primi, C., & Casale, S. (2013). Psychometric evaluation of the generalized
problematic internet use scale 2 in an Italian sample. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and
Social Networking, 16(10), 761-766
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Cyber Psychology and Behavior, 3, 211–218.
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employment counselors. Journal of Employment Counseling, 40, 87–96.
Griffiths, M. D. (2005). A "components" model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework.
Journal of Substance Use, 10, 191-197.
Halabi A. E., Hachem A., Al-Akhrass L., Artail H., Khan H.U. (2014), Identifying the linkability
between Web servers for Enhanced Internet Computing, 17th IEEE Mediterranean
Electrotechnical Conference MELECON 2014, 13-16 April, Beirut, Lebanon. (Conference
Proceeding)
Hassan, I. M., Khan, H. U., Zaitun, R., Mardini, G. (2015), Pedagogical Potentials of IEEE 802.11
WLAN to Higher Educational Institutions: A Case Study of Nigerian based University, IEEE
9th International Conference on Semantic Computing (IEEE ICSC 2015), Anaheim, CA, USA,
Feb.7 - 9, 2015. (Conference Proceeding).
Heang, J.F., and Khan, H.U. (2015). The Role of Internet Marketing in the Development of
Agricultural Industry: A Case Study of China, Journal of Internet Commerce, 14(1), 1-49.
Ho, C. H., Awan, M.A., and Khan H.U. (2016), Luxury Brands and Corporate Social Responsibility:
A Perspective on Consumers’ Preferences, Journal of International Management Studies,
16(1), 77-81.

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Huang, R., Lu, Z., Liu, J., You, Y., Pan, Z., Wei, Z., He, Q., & Wang, Z. (2009). Features and
predictors of problematic internet use in Chinese college students. Behavior & Information
Technology, 28, 485-490.
Huang, Z., Wang, M., Qian, M., Zhong, J., & Tao, R. (2007). Chinese Internet Addiction
Inventory: Developing a measure of problematic Internet use for Chinese college students.
Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 10(6), 805-811
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15, 2015.
Karim, A. K. M. R., & Nigar, N. (2014). The internet addiction test: Assessing its psychometric
properties in Bangladeshi culture. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 10, 75-83.
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http://kellygonzalez.com/11548-2/
Khan, H.U., Talib, F., Nishat M.F. (2015). An analysis of the barriers to the proliferation of M-
Commerce in Qatar: A relationship modeling approach, Journal of Systems and Information
Technology, Vol. 17, Issue. 1, pp. 54-81.
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Case study of gulf countries, The Advances in Computer Science: an International Journal,
Vol. 2, No. 3, pp.90-96.
Khan, H.U. (2016). Possible effect of video lecture capture technology on the cognitive
Empowerment of higher education students: a case study of gulf-based university,
International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 20(1), 68-84.
Khan, H.U. (2013b). Role of Computer Mediated Communication in Affect Empowerment and
Performance Improvement, IFRSA’s International Journal of Computing, 3(3), 165-171.
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Journal of GSTF Business Review, 1(3), 81-88.
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and possible challenges: A case study of service organizations of Saudi Arabia, 10th
International Conference on Information Technology: New Generations (ITNG 2013), Las
Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Khan, H.U., Artail, H., Malik, Z., Niazi, M. (2014a). Information Technology Adoption, possible
challenges, and Framework of Supply Chain Management: A Case Study of a Leading Gulf
Economy, 4th International Conference on International Conference on International
Conference on Engineering Technology and Technopreneurship, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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Service Quality? A Comparative Study, Journal of Business Inquiry, 13(2), 142-157.
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banking in Nigeria, Int. J. Business Excellence, 11(4), 446-463.
Khan, H.U., Fournier-Bonilla, S. D., Jinugu, A., Madhavi Lalitha, V.V. (2016). Possible
Challenges of the Successful Implementation of CRM in the Service Sector: A Case Study of
Saudi Arabia, Northeast Decision Sciences Institute Conference, Alexandria, Virginia, USA,
March 31st – April 2nd, 2016. (Conference Proceeding).
Kim, H.S., Kim, H.S. (2000). Development of scale for measuring delinquent behavior. Korean
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.11:79–90.
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internet use: the relationship between Internet use and psychological well-being”,
CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(4), 451-455.
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from http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/09/116_204356.html

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Kortunov, V., & Fedulin, A. (2013). A critical analysis of the impact of electronic communications
on the worldview of Russian society. Middle East Journal of Scientific Research, 15(10),
1389-1395.
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2015.
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version of the Internet Addiction Test among college students. Journal of Korean Medical
Science 28, 763–768.
Lee, H.W., Choi, J., Shin, Y., Lee, J., Jung, H.Y., Kwon, J.S. (2012) Impulsivity in Internet
addiction: A comparison with pathological gambling. CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social
Networking 15(7), 373-377.
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predictors of online activities and internet addiction. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 7, 333–
348.
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antisocial behavior in Chinese adolescents”. CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social
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payment devices in Qatar, International Journal of Mobile Communications, 13(6), 670-
689.
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approach to product ranking using customer reviews, Computing, Springer, DOI
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of freshmen university students in China”, CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(3), pp. 327-
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(2014). An international consensus for assessing internet gaming disorder using the new
DSM-5 approach. Addiction, 109(9), 1399-1406
Omonaiye, J.F., Madhavi Lalitha., Khan, H.U., Singh, R., Fournier-Bonilla, S. D. (2015). Ability
and hurdle to provide Banking online services: A case study of banking employees in
Nigeria, 2015 IEEE 2nd International Conference on Cyber Security and Cloud Computing,
New York, USA, November 03 - 05, 2015. (Conference Proceeding)
Sariyska, R., Reuter, M., Bey, K., Sha, P., Li, M., Chen, Y. F., Montag, C. (2014). Self-esteem,
personality and Internet Addiction: A cross-cultural comparison study. Personality and
Individual Differences, 61-62, 28-33
Smuts, R.G., Lalitha, M., Khan, H.U. (2017), Change Management Guidelines That Address
Barriers To Technology Adoption In An HEI Context, 7th IEEE International Advance
Computing Conference, Hyderabad, India, January 5 – 7, 2017. (Conference Proceeding).
Sung, M., Shin, Y.-m., & Cho, S.-m. (2014). Factor Structure of the Internet Addiction Scale and
Its Associations with Psychiatric Symptoms for Korean Adolescents. Community Mental
Health Journal, 50(5), 612-618
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korea/

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Turel, O., Serenko, A., & Bontis, N. (2011). Family and work-related consequences of addiction
to organizational pervasive technologies. Information & Management, 48(2–3), 88–95.
Turel, O., Serenko, A. (2010) Is mobile email addiction overlooked? Communications of the ACM
53(5), 41-43.
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investigation of online auction users. MIS Quarterly 35(4), 1043-1061.
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Performance among Foreign Undergraduate Students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral, 4th
World Conference on Psychology, Counseling and Guidance (WCPCG-2013), 114: 845–851.
Uwemi, S., Khan, H.U., Fournier-Bonilla, S. D. (2016), Challenges of E-Commerce in Developing
Countries: Nigeria as Case Study, Northeast Decision Sciences Institute Conference,
Alexandria, Virginia, USA, March 31st – April 2nd, 2016. (Conference Proceeding).
Uwemi, S., Khan, H.U. (2016), E-commerce, Challenges, and Developing Countries, 2016 DSI
Annual Meeting in Austin, TX, USA. November 19th – November 22nd, 2016. (Conference
Proceeding).
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(STAD) vs. Lecture Method for EFL Learners. I. 10, 1, 1675-6061.
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Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 4(1), 31-51.
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test. Cyber Psychology and Behavior, 7, 443–450.
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School. Computers in Human Behavior, 23, 79-96. Young, K. (1996). Internet addiction:
The emergence of a new clinical disorder. Cyber Psychology and Behavior, 3, 237–244.
Young, K. (2009). Internet Addiction: Diagnosis and Treatment Considerations. Journal of
Contemporary Psychotherapy, 39(4), 241-246.
Zainuddin A., Din M. M, and Othman, (2013). Impacts due to internet addiction among Malaysian
university students. International Journal of Asian Social Science, 3(9), 1922-1928.

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